


Red

by KhadaVengean



Series: Colors [1]
Category: Persona 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Healing takes time, Hurt/Comfort, Minako is back from the seal, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, let's just pretend Minako is back from the seal and it's okay and do not ask any further, thank you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:00:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27280834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KhadaVengean/pseuds/KhadaVengean
Summary: Even when she came back from the seal, her mind and soul were scarred from the eyes of Erebos.Without Akihiko, she wouldn't survive these nightmares.
Relationships: Arisato Minako/Sanada Akihiko
Series: Colors [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019424
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Red

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, quick note:
> 
> we will just pretend that Minako came back from the seal, ok? I already have something prepared on how she came back (paired with my personal headcanon), but I hope this will suffice. 
> 
> [My tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KhadaVengean)
> 
> [Thank you to the lovely acutaeariculae to beta read my stuff!](https://acutaeariculae.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Up until a particular moment in her life, red was Minako Arisato‘s favorite color. She counted herself lucky to be born with hair and eyes that reflected that; she always made sure to have at least one red accessory, too.

  
  


But times have changed, things happened, and when miracles occurred, Minako started to grow afraid of the color red.

  
  


There were red things worth loving: the red scarf she knitted for Akihiko for their first Christmas, the color of the red roses she regularly received from him because he heard it was romantic, the color of sunset that was always open for her to see from the bedroom window of their little apartment.

  
  


But the things that outweighed them so with such ease-!

  
  


_ Blood, red blood, pooling down under Shinjiro and nearly taking his life, so close to taking another component of Aki’s life like it was nothing- _

  
  


_ Chidori’s hair lying on the ground, Junpei holding her in her arms, and Medea’s final gift to the man she loves-  _

  
  


_ The red scarf Minako saw him wear once in February, reminding her that things are lost, and she was going to leave him, and there was nothing she could do- _

  
  


_ (She made her decision, but it still hurt, everything was fine, she was okay to die, but it hurt to leave him behind because she loves him, she needs him,  _ I don’t want to leave you, I want to stay, but I can’t, forgive me, please forget me _ -) _

  
  


_ And finally- _

_ Four red eyes stared at her, a divided and divine monster gazing at her in greed. Death was humanity’s wish, and it showed in the fangs it bore and flashed at her, ready to tear her apart. A single girl against such a monster, a minority against the majority, and Minako was afraid- _

  
  


_The monster was reaching out to her, gripping her body without an ounce of shame and pulling. Pulling, pulling, pulling!_ _There was no chance to escape, trying to rip open that door to free Nyx and destroy everything that she tried to build._

  
  


_ Trying to take away the reason why she left them, left her friends, her world, her life, left him, her heart, her soul, her everything behind- _

  
  


_ But death was the answer to everything, Erebos seemed to say, and those two faces got closer to her without a moment of hesitation, ready to tear her apart. Like it meant nothing that she did all those things. _

  
  


_ Red eyes, red like blood, red like grief and pain, red like death, stared at her in hunger and hatred and- _

* * *

  
  


It was enough to wake her up.

  
  


Minako didn’t wake up with a scream. Or with a cry. She didn’t even shed tears. She simply opened her eyes, opened her mouth in a silent gasp, and found herself surrounded by darkness. 

  
  


Nothing was here, an endless void. Sure, there was a light breeze coming through the crack of the opened window or the sound of cars wailing in the distance, but that could be easily mistaken for her own wishful thinking. At this moment, the only she saw was darkness, something so deep and unmoving that she would never have any chance to understand it, to tame it, to conquer it.

  
  


Where was she? What was this place? Maybe this was a dream? Perhaps she would just realize that everything that happened was nothing but her imagination playing a trick on her? 

  
  


Moments passed, seconds to minutes, and minutes to hours. She kept staring upwards, hoping to find an answer to this question. Was there even one to look for?

  
  


A groan comes up right next to her – and Minako was pulled into reality. She was lying in a bed, the window was opened just a little bit, and she felt there were no clothes on her body. The blanket that covered her naked skin was comfy, snuggling against her skin and attempting to give her the warmth she desired. A body was lying right next to her, so very close, hugging his own pillow and being fast asleep. He was having his own dreams, getting the rest he deserved, and especially needed.

  
  


But the sensation was intense. So powerful. And Minako Arisato sometimes thought that being strong wasn’t always the way.

  
  


And so, in the quiet of the dark, she spoke in a hushed whisper: “Aki?”

  
  


Her voice was cracking. And the moment she let it resound in this confined space, inhabited only by them, tears were starting to bud in her eyes. Her heart was heavy in her chest, beating so slowly in her rib cage. It was the same as many years ago, and she didn’t want to fall asleep. 

  
  


“Aki?” she called out louder, this time with more force. The moment was frozen in time. Maybe she really wasn’t existing, and this was the final proof for that- 

  
  


Fear overcame her, everything at once, and tears were falling down her cheeks. “Aki,” she began to sob, shoulders just shivering in the slightest, but her heart was slowing down even more. “Aki, please.” This time, her words were lost in her tears, and her companion was beginning to stir. “Please wake up-”

  
  


“Mina?”

  
  


His voice was groggy, still thick with sleep, but he was moving. In comparison, she wasn’t. Everything was frozen. 

  
  


“What- what’s wrong-?” 

  
  


His silhouette was moving in the dark, sitting upright and turning his head to her direction. “I can’t move,” she whimpered, whispered under tears, and sudden movements wanted her to move on her own accord. But her body wasn’t listening. “Everything is frozen.”

  
  


“Hey, Mina.” Warm hands cupped her cheek, fingers pressing against her jaws. “I’m here, snap out of it-”

  
  


“I’m afraid. I can’t move, I don’t want to sleep, I just want to stay, I’m sorry Aki, I’m so sorry-”

  
  


“Don’t be.” He moved, his legs caging her hips and straddling her thighs. He leaned forward, pressed his forehead against hers, and breathed out openly. His breath hit her nose, filling her nose with life. “You’re not going anywhere, you stay here, you don’t have to fall asleep-!”

  
  


“I can’t move, I want to stay-!”

  
  


“Then do so-!”

  
  


“But I can’t! I don’t want to leave you behind-!”

  
  


“You won’t!”

  
  


“I’m sorry-.” 

  
  


Her whimpers and sobs turned to hiccups and gasps, her chest rising and falling in rapid succession. Her heart was getting too fast, too quickly, and she was nearly suffocated by her own breath.

  
  


“Aki-!”

  
  


“Hey.” His voice turned so soft, so gentle and the frozen moment passed. Instead, her body reacted violently, shivers dominating her limbs. She bit her lip, biting so hard that she could taste blood. “Listen to my voice, okay? Try to repeat what I do, alright?”

  
  


Minako nodded, and she felt how his hands cupped hers, slowly pulling her upwards until she was sitting upright in their bed. He leaned over the side, grabbed something from the floor, and draped it over her head. She put her arms into the holes of her shirt, but the shivers didn't subside. 

  
  


But it got better. 

  
  


“Look me in the eyes and focus on me.” 

  
  


His hands cupped her cheeks again. Their foreheads pressed against each other. She couldn’t see the color, only the smallest flashes of light betrayed their silver hue. “Take my hands. Squeeze them if it’s too much.”

  
  


She nodded, trying to follow. Lifting her limbs, she noticed how much they shivered. It took an eternity to grasp the hands of her lover. Though it took so long, Akihiko’s gaze was unwavering. “Good. And now try to breathe. And listen to me.”

  
  


He inhaled, she followed. He let out his breath, she exhaled. The second time was unsteady, and Minako clutched his hands for dear life, and he whispered silenced words into her ears.

  
  


“Take your time, don’t worry.”

  
  


The third time was pretty much the same. In the fourth, she could ban the ringing from her ears. The fifth took away the weight lying on her chest, and in the sixth, she could finally hear the sounds around her. The cars in the distance, some people out in the streets, Akihiko’s breaths and her own. 

  
  


She bit her lip once, winced at the pain of the bloody wound, and tried to nurse it gently with a lick. 

  
  


“Thank you, Aki,” she whispered, leaning forward with her forehead on his chest. He tucked her head under his chin, letting his fingers skim over her hair, and felt how he pressed his lips against her head in a kiss. “I’m sorry for waking you like this.”

  
  


“ Don’t apologize,” His whisper was frantic, assertive ** ,  ** and she wrapped her arms around his torso. His warmth was slowly seeping into her, and Minako felt her heart calming down. “There is nothing you did wrong.”

  
  


“You have to go to work tomorrow, and I kept you from sleeping-.”

  
  


“I don’t care! You come first!” He cupped her cheeks a third time this night, staring deep into her eyes and the intense look set her belly on fire. “As long as you’re fine, I’m fine.” 

  
  


She wished to deny it. Her tongue was lead in her mouth, weighing it down, and she couldn’t imagine how this was possible. To hear such words from the person she loved the most after years of being tied to a door like a prisoner- she couldn't fathom it.

  
  


Only months had passed since that fateful Christmas Eve, but it felt like yesterday. 

  
  


“Aki…” she whispered again, leaning her forehead against his chin. “Thank you for being here.”

  
  


His answer was both so much like him and came so quick that it warmed her heart and chased away all doubts. “Anything for you. Never doubt that.”

  
  


“I won’t.” 

  
  


Her arms find her position once again around his torso. Her forehead fell to his collarbone, softly leaning against it. “I love you.”

  
  


There was no need for him to speak. He simply kissed her forehead and her temple. Now together on the couch, he draped the blanket over them both and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  
  


Minako closed her eyes. Healing wasn’t magical, but with a night like this, it was a step in the right direction. 


End file.
